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"Breathe deep. Focus, now focus… the vamps live in the realm of death and we can reach there through the Summoning Dark Ones spell that I taught you last week. If we leave out the last stanza, we won't risk calling them to us. If we're lucky, this just might point the way to them. Add the Moon Mother's energy to the spell if you can."
"I'll try," Camille said. "I can bring down a silver arrow and we might be able to turn it into a compass."
I glanced at Delilah, who had caught the exchange. By now, we all knew Morio had been teaching Camille death magic, but I wondered just how deeply entangled she was becoming with the fox demon. Truth was, none of us knew all too much about him, nor did we know how far in the shadows he walked. He was on our side, Grandmother Coyote had made that clear, but I was beginning to think there was a lot more to him than he let on. Sex magic, death magic… just what kind of youkai was he?
Delilah shook her head and I let it drop. Now was neither the time nor place to enquire. We had too much to do. I turned back to Tim, who clutched the mug in his hands like a shield. He looked over at me and shuddered.
"You asked me some questions?" Haggard, he'd lost any fight he might have had. I could tell that we'd have to direct his every move to get anything useful out of him. It wasn't that he didn't want to help. He was just too exhausted to do anything on his own.
"Let's start with what you saw. Tell us every detail that you can remember." I motioned to Iris, who pulled out a notebook and pen. She had a photographic memory but I didn't want to take any chances.
Taking a deep breath, he let it out sharply. "I was changing in the back when I heard Erin scream. I pulled on my pants—I was naked—and by the time I got to the doorway leading into the main store, I could see three men. They had hold of Erin, and she was putting up a fight, but then one waved his hand in front of her face and she stopped, like she'd forgotten what was happening.">I lightly touched his shoulder, very gently. Most vamps didn't like being touched and among ourselves a shoulder tap was the equivalent of a full-blown hug. "Brett, you just keep up what you're doing. But be careful. There is evil in the world far greater than you dream of. Sometimes it's hard to scare it away."
Pausing, I debated on whether to warn him about Dredge. We hadn't gotten that specific in our talk to the audience. But what good would it do? If Brett ran into my sire, Dredge would just mop up the floor with him. "Just keep alert, and don't play hero unless there isn't any other choice. I'll be in contact."
As he walked away, I looked over at Roz. "The Woodland Park Zoo is right up near the Green Lake district. Ten to one, Dredge or the newborns have a hideout up there."
"I'll scout around tonight," Roz said. "And you don't have to warn me what I'm up against. I know." He blew me a kiss and then took off out the door. As I watched him go, Camille came over and stared at his departing back.
"What do you know about him, Menolly?"
I shook my head. "Not enough. Too much. He's a mercenary, but he's out to get Dredge. I recognize the hatred."
She gave me a questioning look, but I shook it off. "Come on, we'd better start cleaning up. People are leaving and I want to stop at the bar after we're done."
As we began folding chairs, Camille's cell phone jangled the Gorillaz song "Dare." She glanced at the caller ID and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, it's Tim—Cleo. Let me take this. He never calls this late."
She moved aside and we went on cleaning up. Tim Winthrop, or Cleo Blanco as he was known in his alter ego, was a flamboyant friend of ours. Computer student by day, female impersonator by night, he was brilliant, smart, and funny. Tim's gorgeous boyfriend, Jason, had put a hunk of ice on his left finger. They were engaged and the wedding was set for summer. Tim also did the programming for the Supe database he and Delilah were building, and he was working for our newly revised OIA on a contingency basis, strictly need-to-know only.
All of a sudden, Camille let out a loud, "Son of a bitch!"
Delilah whirled around. "What is it?" she said, but Camille waved her silent, listening with a strained expression on her face, looking like she was going to throw up.
"We'll be right there. Get your butt into a safe place and don't come out until we get there and give you a safe word. I'll shout out… oh… babe in the woods. Got it?… That's right, don't come out till you hear me yell babe in the woods. We'll be there as soon as we can, Tim. Just hang on. Everything will be okay. I promise." She flipped her phone shut. "Leave the mess. We'll clean it later."
"What happened?" I dropped the chair I was holding. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to make Camille scared. That made it bad-ass bad.
She'd already hit the door and we scrambled to catch up to her.
On the way to our cars, she told us what happened. "After one of his shows, Tim and Erin stopped in at the Wayfarer for a drink. Then they walked by Erin's shop before going to a movie. Tim was in the back, changing out of drag when he heard Erin scream. He ran to the door leading into the front of the shop but managed to stop short. A group of vamps were dragging Erin out the door. They didn't see him before he had a chance to duck into the utility closet. That's where he is now."
Shit! Erin Mathews was owner of the Scarlet Harlot lingerie shop and president of the local Faerie Watchers Club, a human-based fan club focused on the Fae from OW. Erin was also one of Tim's staunchest supporters and one of Camille's close friends.
Camille was halfway to her car by the time she finished telling us. I looked around to see who had come with us. Wade, Iris, and Nerissa broke off in my direction. Zachary headed toward Delilah's Jeep. Trillian and Morio were hot on Camille's heels. As we pulled away from the curb, Camille was streaking down the road, her Lexus silent in the frost-shrouded night.
"Do you think there's any chance Erin will be alive?" Iris asked.
"First we have to find out who took her. If it was Dredge…" A thought had sprung to mind. One that I didn't want to entertain. Dredge was out there, hiding in the shadows. If Roz was right and my sire was out to make my life hell, what better way to start than by hurting my friends? Tim and Erin had been in the bar before they hiked the few blocks over to the Scarlet Harlot and everybody there knew they were close friends of ours. If Dredge was watching the joint, then it would have been an easy matter to follow the pair to Erin's shop.
Wade let out a low whistle. "You think it's your sire?"
I growled. "Don't call him that! I refuse to acknowledge any link to that murderous bastard."
"But you have to face the facts, Menolly," Wade said. "Denying that the link is there won't help you. In fact, it's going to hinder you."
"What the fuck do you mean?" I hated exposing this side of myself to Nerissa, who sat silently beside Iris in the back seat.
"Think about it. I'll bet you that he can follow you through the bond of his blood. Don't you realize that you'll always be tied to Dredge as long as that bond exists?" Wade stared at me. "What the hell did the OIA teach you?"
